Colton Iverson headed to fluid situation in Boston

Former Rams center joins crowded roster amid overhaul

Colorado State's Colton Iverson was selected 53rd overall in the NBA Draft on Thursday by the Boston Celtics.
(Timothy Hurst)

This much is known about Colton Iverson's future in the NBA: he was selected 53rd overall in Thursday night's draft by in the Boston Celtics, who purchased the pick from the Indiana Pacers.

Where the former Colorado State big man goes from there is very much unclear given where in the draft he was taken and by which team.

Perhaps no team in the league is going through more change right now that the Celtics, who on Thursday dealt stars Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, Keith Bogans and three future first-round draft picks. Boston is also currently without a head coach after Doc Rivers was traded earlier in the week to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Iverson was the second of two selections by the Celtics, who moved up three spots in the first round to grab Gonzaga 7-footer Kelly Olynyk with the 13th pick. They join a logjam in Boston's young front court that also includes 2012 first-round picks Fab Melo and Jered Sullinger.

"Their situation right now is really fluid. Without getting too much into their internal planning, the reality is they have more players than they can keep right now on their roster," said one of Iverson's agents, Adam Pensack by phone Friday. "So they're looking at all sorts of possibilities. I'd say things can change at any moment, just like they did (Thursday) for them. It's just a fluid, moving target at this point."

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Iverson, who in his lone season in Fort Collins was named first-team All-Mountain West after he averaged 14.2 points and 9.8 rebounds a game, could not be reached for comment. Pensack said the 7-foot center will travel to Boston on Sunday and be introduced to the media Monday. He'll then head to Orlando to play for Boston's summer league team.

Pensack said although his client was relieved to realize his dream of getting drafted, a lot of questions still remain.

"Every player is excited to get drafted. He knew from very early on in this process that Boston really liked him. ... He's fired up about it," added Pensack. "He's got to go in, make the most of it in the summer league, and we'll see what happens. It's not a perfect situation in terms of their roster, but they do really like him. With that said, you never know what might be possible."

Iverson became the 21st Ram in program history to be drafted and the first since Jason Smith went in the first round in 2007. He became just the fourth CSU player since 1971 to go in the first two rounds, joining Pat Durham (1989), Joe Vogel (1996) and Smith. He also follows in the footsteps of his father, Chuck, who was drafted back in 1973 by Seattle. Iverson was the fourth Mountain West player to be drafted, including the overall No. 1 pick, Anthony Bennett of UNLV by Cleveland.

While Iverson's short-term future is up in the air, Pensack is confident the Yankton, S.D., native does have what it takes to eventually make a career in league. The agent admitted getting taken among the final eight picks doesn't necessarily bode well. However, recent history suggests it can be done.

"The further you go into the second round, the tougher it becomes. But last year the last pick of the second round was Robert Sacre of the Lakers; he made it and played the whole season. The year before that the last pick was Isaiah Thomas with the Kings; he was arguably one of the top five rookies in the entire NBA that year. Those are just a few examples of the last pick, but the reality is not all of them make it.

"Going back to five or six years ago, if you take all those picks, a third of them aren't in the NBA today. There's a lot of questions, but Colton is an NBA player. I mean, he can play in the NBA for a long time. Boston believes it, I believe it, other teams believe it. We just have to find the right fit on their roster, and hopefully that can happen."